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Ronald McDonald Room Planned for Geisinger

MAHONING TOWNSHIP — No parent wants to imagine what it would be like to have a seriously ill child. But it happens, and all across the country, Ronald McD...
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MAHONING TOWNSHIP -- No parent wants to imagine what it would be like to have a seriously ill child. But it happens, and all across the country, Ronald McDonald Houses exist to help families by giving them a home away from home.

The house in Montour County is expanding, taking its resources even closer to those who need them the most.

It's mere steps from Geisinger Medical Center in Montour County, but the Ronald McDonald House of Danville looks more like someone's home.  And that's intentional.

We got a tour of the 19-bedroom facility from executive director Michael Turlis.

"The main thing we hear from the families is we've heard of the Ronald McDonald House but we never really knew what it did.  Unfortunately, we had to learn but we're so grateful that it was here for us," said Turlis.

Turlis says the Ronald McDonald House is a home away from home for family members who have ill children -- complete with a living room, dining area, outdoor play area, and fully stocked kitchen and laundry room.  They can stay as long as they need to.

But in some cases, the house is just too far away, according to Kevin Lanciotti, president and chairman of the board of the Ronald McDonald House of Danville and chief financial officer at Geisinger Medical Center.

"Many times children are Life-Flighted to the hospital before their families even get here.  They've never been to Danville, never been to Geisinger, and the situation with the child is so critical that they're not going to leave their child's side," said Lanciotti.

Later this summer, construction should begin to turn the space at the Janet Weis Children's Hospital into the Ronald McDonald Family Room.  It'll be retrofitted onto the first floor, near the children's and infants intensive care units.

There will be private space just for families who are so involved in taking care of a child's crisis that they're perhaps not taking care of themselves.

Ronald McDonald Room Planned for Geisinger

Lanciotti knows this need firsthand.

"My daughter was 11 when she faced a serious illness, and I kept a bedside vigil for six weeks beside her," Lanciotti recalled. "The families that actually lived the real, serious crisis on the board were the ones who identified this as a need.  Many of us slept in the backseats of cars in parking lots."

The project is expected to cost $880,000 dollars.  So far, the board has raised almost $300,000 of that and has started a campaign to raise the rest.

Ann Blugis, director of development and communications, says in its 35 years, the Ronald McDonald House of Danville has helped 358,000 families, and it's the very generous community that has made that possible.

"Without the members of the community, in terms of not only their volunteer hours but their philanthropic support, our doors would not have remained open for 35 years.  So our success has been built on that, and our future success is contingent on that," said Blugis.

Construction on the Ronald McDonald Room at the Janet Weis Children's Hospital is set to begin in August.  Officials expect it'll be six to nine months before the work is complete.

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